Hector Barbera’s Estoril race lasted only four corners into the first lap, when the Mapfre Aspar rider suddenly crashed out due to the usual cold tire syndrome and was left lying breathless in the gravel pit, unaided at first by a corner marshal who preferred to pick up his Ducati GP11.
Barbera seemed okay when he returned to his garage and stated that he hadn’t been injured, but a subsequent visit to the Clinica Mobile revealed that he had sustained a small crack on the right hand side of his lumbar vertebra.
Apparently the injury isn’t serious and only requires rest, but this could mean that Barbera may have to sit out the Estoril test like Randy de Puniet.
Talking about his crash Barbera said, “It is a shame, because I think that we could have been in the top eight with the practice pace that we had.
I wanted to continue my form from Jerez.
It was my mistake, because I maybe overstretched myself.
It was just that I had a group of riders in front of me and didn’t want to lose them.
I suppose I should have been a bit more reserved, because it was the first left hander and the tyre was perhaps a little cold.
The crash was a strange one, because I didn’t get any warning and suddenly I was on the ground.
I rode almost the same line on the warm-up lap, and nothing happened then.
I don’t know what to think.
It was an excess of confidence, because I had never had problems on that corner before the race.
I wasn’t even on the throttle when I took it.
After I got changed I noticed that my back was aching, so I went to the clinica and got some scans done.
It looks like I might have a small crack on the right hand side of a vertebra, but it is something that maybe won’t trouble me tomorrow.
The doctors have told me to rest up and come back tomorrow for another examination.
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